Wings can not keep the Darkness out

[Darth Abyss]

Dagobah

It had been years since Abyss set foot on the swamps of Dagobah, back then he had just been a young acolyte with close to no training, a rash, impatient man that knew nothing about the greater world that was out there. It had been one of the earliest steps he took on his long path to a true master of the dark side. Now there was almost nothing left of the man he had been then, he had ascended to a lord of the sith, a well known historian and lorekeeper in the ranks of the new sith order, a leader of the sith assassins and a being that was dehumanized enough to be known simply as the mindeater to many of his enemies.

During his last visit he had been drawn to the notorious cave that was hidden in the swamp, a place of great darkness where many who either feared or seeked the dark side ended up. Today he was no longer a seeker of the darkness, he had seen beyond what little power was left there. No his reason for the visit was another. Dagobah was a planet where the force was strong, and the veil that parted the physical realm from the netherworld was thin, allowing the force to flow stronger through every root, every tree and every creature that existed within the swamp.

His starviper starfighter touched the surface, and the hooded figure, shrouded in an old, ragged robe emerged from it, his face hidden behind his mask as always. After a short walk between the trees, and away from his starfighter, Abyss found a root large enough to sit on it, and descended down on to it, his legs crossed, his preferred stance for meditation. So close to the force as the planet brought him, he would be able to contemplate about the many mysteries he had yet to understand, even after years of training. While he rested, his mind wandering through the never ending flow of energy that was all around him, he could feel the same strange power that filled him in the catacombs of the korriban academy. Without a conscious thought, his body was lifted from the ground, levitating a few centimeters above the ground, while his eyes remained closed.

[member="Winter Ardmore"]

 

[Winter Ardmore]

Winter loved flying.

Not that she was much good at it. It was odd to be flying without making use of her own wings and she hadn't really gotten used to controlling the ship, which the Alliance had lent her after she'd joined. Still, she found it exhilarating, and a good way to brighten her mood. She wasn't quite sure what it was about Dagobah that had called out to her; but the idea of a planet full of the Force appealed to her. She could practice her newfound skills here, and if she messed up there wouldn't be anyone around to complain, mostly thanks to the fact that the planet was almost entirely swamp. That part she wasn't so keen on, but that was a minor matter.

The ship screeched, quickly bringing Winter's focus back to reality. The surface was coming into sight alarmingly fast. Quickly, she pulled a lever to brake the ship - with a thud, she landed in the swamps. Something green splashed across the front window, and Winter recoiled. She'd really have to work on her piloting skills some other time.

A few minutes later, and she'd managed to get the ship onto a narrow patch of dry land where it would wait whilst she explored. These days, she took every chance she could get to explore. Something large began to surface from the swamps, and Winter started, jogging a few yards to avoid it - bumping into a hooded figure as she did.

"Oh, sorry."

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

Abyss didn't needed his eyes to see. Some time ago he picked up an ancient spell of the nightsisters that allowed him to see with the help of the force and sonic waves. Because of it he had been fully aware of the girl that moved towards him. Even if it hadn't, her aura in the force gave away her presence. It was a weak fire inside her, a untapped and unkindled source of energy which felt like it had been barely used if at all. Someone with more experience in the force would have probably avoided coming close to him, as he was fully shrouded in a dark, tainted presence. Without even turning around to her he began to speak, his voice cold and emotionless.

"Who is foolish enough to disrupt my meditation?"

His voice was to empty to make his words seem truly hostile, but even without the right tone it was more or less impossible to not pick up that they were at least not friendly. The wings on her back had been of putting at first, but as she was coming closer he had recognised her as just another young being in search of the force.

Maybe he would pass on some knowledge today, maybe he would give her a lesson she wouldn't forget so easily. But no matter what option would turn out as the right one, he wouldn't do it without having some fun at first. It wasn't like he had a big ego that needed validation , but as the clearly superior one right now, he would have a little play with her before doing anything else.

[member="Winter Ardmore"]

 

[Winter Ardmore]

Winter walked backwards, slowly. Something about him was intimidating - made her feel empty, scared. She'd already been wanting to get off this horrible planet. Then she remembered. She sighed in relief, and almost grinned: she was armed. She put out her hand and concentrated hard. A lightsaber hilt slowly rose into her hand. Trying to conceal her excitement, she held the hilt in one hand and readied herself. Winter tried hard not to think about the fact that she had never used one of these before. She stared at the figure. He wan't looking at her, and he didn't seem to be moving. Looking relieved, she put the saber back in her satchel.

He still wasn't doing anything. She probably ought to answer his question.

"I'm Winter. Ardmore. I didn't mean to bump into you. I was just visiting so I could train a little. I assumed that nobody else would be here." She looked at him. He didn't react to that either. Well, it wouldn't hurt to keep talking.

"I'm a Jedi. Kind of. I assume you've heard of them. You don't look like a hermit. Well, you kinda do, but - never mind. Anyway, I mean no harm." Winter sighed. Her sarcasm was returning. She should probably stop talking and decide what to do next. Part of her wanted to return to her ship and fly away as far as possible, but she wasn't going to abandon this excellent training opportunity just because of a cloaked hermit figure meditating.

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

Abyss remind completely motionless as she spoke, instead using his hearing to see her movements. The way the lightsaber hilt rested in her hand was another testament of her lack of training, it lacked the frim grip and the right position the use the weapon effectively.

"Yes I know the jedi. I consider quite a few of them my friends."

A simple lie but with a hint of truth in it. There were in fact two former jedi he considered somewhat friends, but both of them had found their path to the darkness by now.

"But if you are one of them, I wonder why you reached for your weapon. The last I remember a core part of the Jedi teachings is pacifism. The saber should always be the last option."

On the inside he felt a bit of amusement, teaching jedi philosophy to someone. In truth he was quite knowledgeable about the ways of the servants of the light, not just for a sith but on a level that rivalled that of actual jedi. He had studied all the different orders surrounding the force, the more common ones to a great extend.

"You came here to train, but do you even understand what it is that you wish to learn?"

A very cryptic question, the easiest way to raise curiosity inside anothers mind. Young sith and jedi weren't that different. They had just touched the force, they were hungering fot more, they were ambitious to the core. If he could manage to use that ambition, all she would need was a little push to see the truth about the force.

[member="Winter Ardmore"]

 

[Winter Ardmore]

Winter squinted at the figure. This was starting to feel like a test. She crossed her arms. This could be hard.

"You seem to know an awful lot about the Force for a hermit. I wonder why." She knew he wasn't just any old hermit. That much was obvious. But until she knew what he was exactly, she'd give away as little information as possible.

"And yes, I do know what I want to learn. I need more control over my abilities." It sounded as if he was curious about how loyal she was to the Jedi. That irritated her. But his second question did bother her. Why had she gone for her saber first?

"I reached for my saber because I felt threatened. Reflex reaction, you know." She probably ought to work on that, in fact. It wouldn't do to pull her saber out every time something alarmed her. But that wasn't the point.

She was still cautious, but her attention was on other things now. For example, the rock at her feet. She was sure she could lift it. Just a little push. She held out her hand, trying her hardest to float it. It rose for a little bit, and then gave up. Irritated, she turned back to the figure.
"So who are you?"

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"Obviously someone that made you feel threatened."

He simply let the sentence echo through the air a bit, and allowed her to think about it. It wasn't easy to say if was just another cryptic sentence from a eccentric and confused old man, or if it was a threat hidden behind his words. Without showing her his face, or rather his mask she had no way of knowing what he was, or how old he was, effectively masking his identity, while he could easily follow her every move. He made a slight flick with his left wrist, and the stone she had tried to lift began to hoover a meter above the ground, keeping a steady position in the air.

"So it is control that you seek? Control over your abilities means control over yourself. So I would begin with keeping that saber where it is until you need it."

A chuckle could be heard from him, as he allowed the stone to fall to the ground again, directly in front of her feet.

"Another part of controlling yourself is to not tell every stranger you meet on a backwater world that you are a jedi. The order has many enemies all over the galaxy."

It was again something that could be either seen as sound advice or as a subtle threat. He fairly enjoyed this, the jedi were so easy to toy with when they were still young.

[member="Winter Ardmore"]

 

[Winter Ardmore]

Winter rolled her eyes with a subtlety that was intended to be obvious. Which she was pretty good at. She still found it rather entertaining when people started randomly dishing out advice. Even when she really needed and was in fact listening to that advice.

"Thanks, for the life advice. Appreciate it." She kept her arms crossed, but grinned a little. Listening or not, it was still amusing.

"So, I take it you aren't a fan of the Jedi? Just a guess." Sitting down on a boulder, she pushed around a few more stones before giving up again. Not worth her time. Fiddling with the strap of her satchel, Winter looked around hesitantly, and her gaze fell on a snake, slithering on its belly as it enjoyed the gloomy weather. It caught her eye, and hissed at her. Her eyebrows raised a fraction. Rude.

She looked back towards the figure, who was still meditating. Somehow. She couldn't even do it for two minutes, and somehow he had been here for at least ten minutes, maybe longer, and hadn't moved an inch. Perhaps she ought to practise more - but it was so boring. One day she'd get the hang of it, though.

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"The order as a whole? No. Jedi as individuals? Certainly."

It was the honest truth, as Abyss was a sith that had respect for the jedi, even if he deemed them fools for their dedication to the light. In his research he had stumbled over many interesting and useful parts of the jedi philosophy which he had incorporated into his own, at least as long it did not stand in the way of the sith code. There was a chaotic energy flowing in her, confusion, frustration and ambition. Very unjedi if one would ask him.

"I feel a lot of unrest in you. You wish for control, but the more you try to take it, the further it fades away from you, does it not?"

What followed now weren't mere words anymore, but each sound, each syllable had the treacherous energy of the dark side webbed into it, subtly, almost unnoticeable he began to web his net around her, a web composed out of promises of power, of control and most importantly victory, over herself and others.

"I can feel frustration in you, but also ambition. Stop suppressing it, use it to unleash what power you have, and everything, truly everything you ever desired while come to you."

[member="Winter Ardmore"]